On a hot and humid afternoon, as devotees walked out of Delhi's Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India, Khaleel stood at a corner carrying a mashak – a traditional goatskin water bag – to offer them a cold drink.
Khaleel, 67, is one of the last remaining Mashakwalas – traditional water carriers – in the country.
He lives at a shrine on the steps of the colossal medieval mosque in Old Delhi, the walled city in the capital, and earns his living by selling water from the mashak, which holds up to 40 litres.
Khaleel, who only uses his first name, draws the water from a well at the shrine to fill the mashak, then sells it to nearby restaurants and shops.
On Fridays, however, when Muslims gather for prayer, he offers cold water to devotees for free. His older brother, Mohammed Umar, also lends him a helping hand.
“I have been selling water for the last 50 years, this is a generational occupation. My father and grandfather were all Mashakwalas,” Khaleel told The National.
“But I offer water for free to devotees on Fridays. It is a sawab [reward] for us.”
Khaleel is from the Bhisti tribe – a word believed to originate from the Persian word bahishti, meaning those who live in paradise. The community is also known as Saqqa, the Arabic word for cupbearer, in northern India.
The Bhistis were once a valued community, particularly during the Muslim Mughal rule in Delhi, as they sold cold, potable water when there were no refrigerators.
Legends from the time say that Mughal emperor Humayun once fell into a river and was rescued by a Mashakwala who offered him his leather water bag to help him swim to the shore.
The Mashakwalas would fetch water from the wells, carry it in their goatskin bags, and roam the labyrinthine alleyways of Old Delhi.
They were essential to travellers, providing them with cold water during the hot summer days.
“There were no piped water lines or taps, no refrigerators, so people used to drink water from wells. We used to carry the water and go from door to door,” Khaleel said.
“It was a flourishing occupation. We never had a shortage of money.”
Children were also trained from an early age to fetch water from the well and to make their own mashak, he said.
“I was 14 when I started this work. My father taught me the method of making the bags.”
“There is a method to clean and stitch the hide. It can take several days to be ready,” Khaleel said, as he stood at the entrance to the shrine, next to half a dozen long, leathery bags hanging from hooks.
Dying occupation
The occupation was passed down to Khaleel and his four brothers through a long chain of forefathers, but the next generation in the family has chosen not to follow in their footsteps.
Khaleel said that while his three sons used to help him draw water and fill the animal hide bags as children, they now work as drivers.
His elder brothers, including Mr Umar, have retired and their children have also followed different paths.
He says the younger generation picked different occupations because of the back-breaking work being a Mashakwala entails – which is now no longer worth it because of the low sales.
“It is a very exhausting job with barely any returns. Imagine walking up and down these steep steps every day, carrying 40 litres of water for just 40 rupees (48 cents) per bag. It is not worth it,” Khaleel said.
Most houses and shops have refrigerators and packaged water bottles.
From travellers and locals, the customer base transitioned to shop or restaurant owners who use the Mashakwala's water for cooking or cleaning – with some using it for their air coolers.
However, sales were further hit by the increasing use of affordable bottled water.
“People now prefer packaged water because they feel it is clean and hygienic but the water in the well is filtered naturally and is sweet,” Khaleel said.
“Before, we worked round the clock. I used to carry water and sell it to at least 50 shops in Old Delhi. Now, I sell it to just three to four shops. Air conditioners have also replaced water coolers. The demand for water from the well has dropped.
“I feel I am the only Mashakwala in Delhi. I am following the tradition of my forefathers.
“But it is heartbreaking that no one else will continue this tradition. It will die with me and my brothers.”
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – Rally schedule:
Saturday: Super Special Spectator Stage – Yas Marina Circuit – start 3.30pm.
Sunday: Yas Marina Circuit Stage 1 (276.01km)
Monday: Nissan Stage 2 (287.92km)
Tuesday: Al Ain Water Stage 3 (281.38km)
Wednesday: ADNOC Stage 4 (244.49km)
Thursday: Abu Dhabi Aviation Stage 5 (218.57km) Finish: Yas Marina Circuit – 4.30pm.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Usain Bolt's World Championships record
2007 Osaka
200m Silver
4x100m relay Silver
2009 Berlin
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2011 Daegu
100m Disqualified in final for false start
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2013 Moscow
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2015 Beijing
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
The currency conundrum
Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”
Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.
This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.
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Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
The five pillars of Islam
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
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Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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